This Angels Season Won’t Be Just Another Spring and a Miss

There’s a small patio outside my back door. In one corner of it is a freshly sprouted lily. In another, a rotting lemon.

Kind of sums things up, doesn’t it? Life offers a bit of both, eh?

Sure, I could dispose of the lemon, but then there goes the metaphor.

And we’re badly in need of one today, because another baseball season is upon us.

Baseball probably has spawned more bad metaphors, empty cliches and sappy sentiments than any subject this side of romance.

And why not? Baseball and romance both can make you jump for joy, break your heart, test your nerves, order a drink, throw a fit, test your patience, phone a friend, or ... give someone his or her unconditional release. Neither game is for sissies.

For today, though, let’s concentrate on our national pastime (baseball, that is).

Tonight at 5, the Angels take on Cleveland at Edison Field in the first game of the 2002 season. Early reports are that the game may not be a sellout.

Over the years, baseball fans in Orange County have been put through the wringer. The Angels have asked a lot of us, and what have they given in return?

How about no pennants since joining the American League in 1961? No playoffs since 1986? Let’s hear it for ridiculous parking fees. What kind of organization would deprive us of Nolan Ryan and subject us to Ken Hill?

Are you mad? Are you fed up? Can’t take any more?

If we were real baseball fans, we’d ...

Fill the stadium tonight and then come back for the rest of the series Tuesday and Wednesday.

You heard me. Let’s give these lunkheads a chance. Let’s give them a chance and see how they respond.

Maybe you think they don’t deserve it; I disagree. Angels management was very good in the off-season and put together a team we can rally around, even without a monkey on the scoreboard.

The front office brought in two new starting pitchers. They’ve done that before, but the difference is that these guys might actually know how to pitch.

One of them came in a trade for Mo Vaughn. How was Angels management to know when they signed Vaughn three years ago that he disliked Southern California more than Woody Allen?

The Angels made a few other moves too that suggest they’re serious about making up.

The next move is up to us. We shouldn’t point out all of management’s faults and, when they try to correct them, stiff them.

I’ve got a weird feeling this is the year of second chances between fans and Angels.

Community and team need to get together, and the sooner the better.

I have some baseball buddies who think it’ll never happen, that Orange County won’t perennially embrace a team the way some other cities do--even cities that don’t win pennants.

Call me a silly old fool, but I’d like to see that change. I’m a Pittsburgh Pirates fan for life, but since they play in the other league, I can give the hometown Angels some affection. I’ve got plenty of love to spread around. So do you.

This team may well deserve fan support. Yes, the tickets cost too much and so do the concessions, but since when does a meaningful relationship come without cost?

With this team, I sense the chance for us to get something back.

I wondered aloud last November, after coming back from Game 7 of the World Series in Phoenix, whether Angels management wanted to make the same commitment as Arizona in trying to bring home a winner.

The Disney people aren’t spending Arizona dollars, but the Angels still might have a better team this season than the defending champs.

With baseball, especially in the spring, there’s always the chance of falling in love all over again.

It could happen.

Lily or lemon?

With this Angels team, I see lilies in the field.

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by writing to him at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail to dana.parsons@latimes.com.